


see the northern lights

by luxuryofgrey



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Bad Parenting, M/M, Triggers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:00:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23882668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/luxuryofgrey/pseuds/luxuryofgrey
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Do Kyungsoo | D.O, Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Oh Sehun/Park Chanyeol





	1. Overview

"You know what, lets live our dreams. Lets live that classic _tumblr-couple-goals_ life on this trip. And when the trip is over, we can either talk like we used to or we can just enjoy our own lives. What do you think?"

"Cool"

**Author's Note:** Hello!! This is my first time posting a story of mine here. Please let me know if you find any problems or if you think I should work on something. This is one of those moments where i dreamt of all this and its 4.07 AM and i thought why not type it all out for once. A lot of this stuff is kinda part of my own life which just makes this whole piece way more important to me. And while typing i realized that it might be disrespectful to portray certain people in such negative characters and i truly hope it doesn't make anyone feel bad. And I genuinely hope no one gets triggered by some of the part of the story. I really hope you all enjoy this and let know what you think. :) 


	2. Raining in London

Baekhyun wakes up to his alarms first call and immediately plays “Raining in London” with his half eyes closed. He gets with rather less sloppy shoulders and walks inside the bathroom feeling peaceful. 

Just as the chorus hits, he smiles, feeling the song fill him from the inside with a sort of joy he probably hasn’t felt in a while. “God I needed this.” He whispers in a raspy voice. With an unusually pleased mood, he gets dressed and leaves his room.

Realizing his mother has once again forgotten to prepare food for him, he walks to the cabinet next to the show rack, takes some money and leaves.

On his way to college he flips through his Vogue Magazine August 2018 edition and just stares at all the photos while listening to music. Getting bored, he opens his phone and looks at the notifications.

/Ms. Judi: Extra class scheduled from 5.00pm to 6.00pm for Fashion Forecasting. /  
/@jongdae92 has sent you a post by @hoenesty/  
/@loeyofficial sent you a photo/  
/@loeyofficial: I think youll like…/  
Chanyeol a.k.a. “LOEY”, as he likes to call himself, is his friend from school. They never really talked much during school time, they just had common friends. Chanyeol was always a lot into music but he never participated in my music competition or anything unlike him.  
One time when Baekhyun was practicing with his band members in the auditorium, he remembered Chanyeol stopping in front of the door and just listening to everyone jamming with a smile on his face and then he gave a thumbs-up to him and left.  
Baekhyun smiles seeing Chanyeol’s name in the notifications and opens the message. There was a screenshot of ‘Raining in London’ playing and the his message saying “I think youll like this song a lot”. His smile grows.

They first had a talk during their last year of school when Baekhyun’s best friend Sehun had a crush on Chanyeol and wanted to talk to him but was too nervous. Sehun is probably the epitome of awkwardness when it comes to unknown situations so there was no doubt Baekhyun had to start a conversation with him from Sehun’s account so they both could end up talking. They both shared their accounts with each other and Baekhyun sent a “Hii” to Chanyeol. That’s when he first got to know him.  
They used to talk about normal things like what they like, what shows they watch, etc. and sometimes Chanyeol would randomly send photos of his past trips and tell him how much he misses traveling. Chanyeol once shared his soundcloud account with him (or rather Sehun) and asked for his opinions on his work. There were only two pieces uploaded. Very Coldplay. Baekhyun hated Coldplay. Never understood the hype they got. He told him the songs were great.  
Around a month later when he and Sehun were sitting together in History class, Sehun told him that he wanted to start talking to Chanyeol on his own now but he would need him to keep an eye on their talk and tell him anytime he did something stupid or weird. That day Sehun got a message from Chanyeol and he immediately called him to open his account and see what they were talking. They started off normally by telling each other how boring school was and how they couldn’t wait for school to end and “live that college life man”. Baekhyun could see the conversation was dying slowly but he knew it was coming, so why not step in only when a disaster would come up. He started making notes about the Cold War while they were talking. He got up to get some water and took a quick look at the chat when he spotted his name in the conversation.  
He immediately picked his phone up and laughed when he read Chanyeol’s message saying “I heard the song Baekhyun posted on Facebook. Suburbia by troye sivan. God it was beautiful”. He ran to his landline phone and called Sehun and the moment he picked up, he laughed at the top of his lungs.  
“BITCH SOMEONE STALKS ME HAHAHAHAHAH”  
He hears a bored voice in the other side. “seriously, what the fuck I can’t believe you two even use Facebook anymore”  
“okay in my defense I only use to it showoff my music taste. You should only judge him”  
“Baek I feel like he knows the person talking to him now is different. I don’t know what to talk to him about” Sehun sighs.  
“just tell him you like that song too and ask him about his preferences and stuff. Don’t panic yet, it could be worse”  
“ahhhh I think I’ll just tell him I have to go study or something.” He could hear the disappointment in his voice but didn’t know how to cheer him up. “I don’t feel good. I’ll talk to you in school. Bye”  
“Okay. Bye” Baekhyun sighed and went to the kitchen.  
Sehun and Chanyeol did end up talking occasionally. Not just on Instagram but they started waving at each other in school too. But time runs too fast when you have shit ton of work and the scariest test of your life waiting for you. They sucessfully finished school and ended up going in different colleges, Sehun taking up Political Science Honors and Baekhyun taking up Fashion Designing.  
It’s after school that Chanyeol and Baekhyun started messaging each other. It started off when Baekhyun posted a story on his Instagram of a screenshot of a song he liked and Chanyeol replying “this song like takes you to heaven”.  
They have never really had a proper conversation till now and Baekhyun is completely fine with it. He rather appreciates the kind of friendship they have because all they do is share songs with each other and sometimes memes. There are no expectations, no “hi how was your day”, no “college is so tiring I feel like dying”.  
It’s honestly a friendship he enjoys.  
Two months have passed and to be very honest, Baekhyun was tired. Tired as hell. He had to attend classes for 10 hours straight and sometimes they wouldn’t even give any break in between or add extra classes. He wasn’t eating well, with the amount of work he was getting, he wasn’t sleeping well and he was slowly starting to loss his interest in fashion which made all the projects even harder to complete.  
When he got back home with bags under his eyes and shoulders drooping like he was carrying 100kg weight on them, he just went straight to bed. He was listing out all the assignments he has to submit in the coming week and was about to cry when he once again heard his mom shouting.  
As he flopped on the bed letting out a loud sigh, he heard his parents fight in the kitchen.  
The worst thing about Baekhyun’s life was not just how lifesucking college was. He had lost the one place which gave him peace and that was his own house. His mother had found out that his dad was cheating on her with some woman he met at his NGO and even though he kept on denying it, she would always fight with him as soon as they woke up and as soon as his dad entered the house at night.  
He initially thought it was just his mom’s delusion and he remembered going to her room once to see how she was and heard her talking to someone on the phone about hacking his dad’s phone and even mentioning detectives. It was the second last year of school and his exams were coming close and he just remembered how horribly broken he felt after hearing that. That’s night when his dad came back home and they were finished with their argument, he went to him crying, for the first time, and asking or rather begging him to tell her that he was not doing anything and that she should stop. His dad kept saying that she was just overreacting and was stupid and exactly two days later they got a video of him having sex with that woman.  
He was always his dad’s favorite. He had always pampered him more than his mother. Baekhyun had always thought of his father to be a very wise and mature man. Someone strong whom he would always look up to. He remembers crying in his bathroom for an hour that day.  
His dad had apologized. He had promised to never see that woman again. But he didn’t keep his words and was caught again last year. But his mother couldn’t just throw him out of the house. He was the only person she had ever felt for. And as MUCH as he wished for them to file a divorse, he could see how much the whole situation was hurting her and therefore never pushed the topic.

Being completely tired from college and getting into such an atmosphere was nothing but torture for him though. Every day he dreaded going to college and when it was time to go back home, he wished he could stay longer just to spend less time at home. His brother had night shifts only so he usually left just when Baekhyun would come back. They were not really that close anyway.  
With all the loud screams, there was no doubt he was going to cry to sleep today too. Baekhyun was tired as hell.  
He got up and connected his phone to the speakers and played loud EDM songs to muffle down their voices. He opened his art files and started sketching designs with an empty head knowing his work will most probably come out shitty but there was no other option.  
There was suddenly a loud sound of something breaking.  
His eyes grew big and he immediately ran out of his seat to the living room. There was a broken vas right in front of the TV and his dad was standing there breathing deeply with large eyes.  
He looked around to find where his mother was and finally spotted her next to the sofa, completely curled up on the floor. Her entire body was shaking.  
He ran towards her with eyes filled with tears and hugged her tight. To say that he was burning with anger was an understatement. He wanted to just get up and punch the man straight to oblivion.  
He pulled his mother up slowly and took her inside her bedroom. She was his first priority. As he put her on the bed and helped her lay down he realized that her irregular breathing was starting to get worse. He suddenly noticed how her hands were trembling like they’re out of control.  
“Baekhyun” she whispered in the softest and the weakest voice he has ever heard.  
Suddenly he couldn’t breathe either. He had no idea what was happening or what to do.  
“Her blood pressure is low. Go make a cup of coffee.” His father’s voice came from the door.  
Baekhyun ran to the kitchen forgetting everything and took out milk from the fridge and put it on the stove. His hands were also trembling but rather slower. How long? He thought. Just how long before all this ends?  
He knew he was slowly dying inside. 

Later that night when Baekhyun was lying on his bed scrolling through his phone, he got a message from Chanyeol.  
“do u have a pc or ps4 or xbox or something?”  
“nahh. I prefer my art file :)”  
“so you’ve never played the last of us????”  
“I have idea what that is but im guessing a video game..?”  
“it has sequels and its literally the best game ever. Like it won the award for the best game”  
“that seriously sounds cool but I’d rather ask my parents to buy me a new laptop and probably a knife to kill myself because my mom broke my laptop last week and all my photoshoots, research papers everything is gone now :)”  
“she broke it? Lmao. But seriously if you do buy a new one let me know. Ill tell you about the last of us. You NEED to play that shit.”  
“sure lol”  
And that was the start of all their random talks and intuitive messages.

First semester had just finished and he can’t say he was proud of how he gave his exams but Baekhyun knows that with that much stress, that’s the best he could have done. He was out with Sehun and their friend Jongdae to search for some good cafes around their block. Jongdae had taken a year-drop after school to study for some entrance test for medical school and they finally convinced him to get out of his house and see the sunlight because he was literally killing himself from the anxiety of “dude only 6 months are left until the test I feel like I don’t have enough time”.  
They spent the whole time talking about the Alumni meet coming up and how they’ll finally get to see all their friends who left to study abroad.  
“Hey remember Anna?” Sehun said. Baekhyun’s eyes widened “Oh trust me I REMEMBER ANNA. You know she still texts me saying she’s waiting for me. I MEAN WHYYYY. I already feel extra homosexual these days, I’ve lost my interest in girls for now.” Jongdae gives him a weird look to which Baekhyun just shrugs.  
“Come on Baek that’s rude. She is clearly still so in lo~ve with you. You should give her a chance.” “Please I’m good. A relationship is the last thing I need right now.” Baekhyun said.  
Jongdae suddenly gets serious and asks “By the way, how are things at home?” Baekhyun’s entire face drops and he looks down at the floor. “They’re okay..? I mean things have been worse honestly so yeah its okay.”  
Sehun notices the shaking of Baekhyun’s hand. He reaches out and holds them but Baekhyun immediately pulls away like a reflex. “You know you can come over any time you want right? Plus my mom already prefers you more than me so I don’t think we’ll have any problem.” Sehun says with a smile to make things light.  
“I know I can. But I can’t leave them alone at home. I can’t risk that. What if they physically harm each other or themselves. And the worst is, they don’t even want a divorce. You know how dangerous our neighborhood is. She’s too scared to let him go or throw him out. I have no idea what to do.”  
Sehun and Jongdae just stare at each other not knowing what to say. There’s a long pause until Baekhyun laughs and pats Sehun’s back. “But as long as I’ve got this incredible pizza and you guys, I think I’ll be okay. Man I love the food here. Where are we even?” He looks around trying to suck up his tears as his friends go back to enjoying the pizza and chatting about school.  
As they’re about to finish their last pieces, a group of tall boys walk into the café wearing tank tops and looking sweaty as hell. Both Sehun and Baekhyun stare shamelessly while Jongdae shakes his head in annoyance. “Seriously either go lick their biceps or finish the damn pizza.”  
“Baek I swear those nipples pocking out are fucking calling me dude.” Sehun says with wide eyes and probably drool running down his face. Baekhyun just wordlessly nods. The boys slowly walk past them with Sehun and Bakehyun’s face following every inch of it shamelessly and they walk up the stairs to the upper floor of the café. Jongdae hears who loud exhales. “Where the hell did they come from?” Baekhyun whispers while turning to look at Sehun. “I don’t know, heaven?” and they both start laughing.  
“But anyways, tell me something, who do you think were the hottest boys in our batch Baek?” Sehun initiates obviously. Baekhyun looks up in deep thought “Ummm…. Well first of all Kai.” All of them agree in unison, even Jongdae. “Remember his solo performance during prom? There’s nothing more I needed than watching that glorious butt move so beautifully right before tests began.” Sehun adds.  
Jongdae suddenly starts laughing “God remember how Kai used to ask Sehun to dance with him but he would always blush and leave.” Just remembering those days made Sehun shake. “Okay how the fuck was I just supposed to yes. I know I’m good at dancing but that KAI! All the girls of our batch and probably seniors too would have ripped me into pieces if they got to know I practice with him.”All of them laugh.  
“Okay then, who was the second hottest.” Sehun says while looking at the ceiling, obviously giving it a little too much thought and suddenly goes, “Well for me it is of course Park Chanyeol. That man could walk over me and I would still thank him.” Jongdae shakes his head while laughing “He was pretty good looking, true. Nice body for sure. But I mean, he was always so loud and stuff. I hated how annoying he would get during classes. He would always crack jokes at the back and laugh loudly.” Sehun suddenly makes a serious face, “But see that was his charm. He knew how to have fun in class but he always got good marks. He topped the finals of Chemistry remember?”  
“He was good in sports too.” Baekhyun says heartedly. All of them turn to him. “Yeah. I used to play football remember? He used to practice Basketball that time for almost the same length. He really was quite hot.”  
“See. To think of it, he was good in everything. He was good in sports, studies, music and had so many friends. He’s literally working as a producer now even with his Bachelors going on. That’s something” Sehun says enthusiastically.  
They spent the rest of the time laughing about how stupid it was for Sehun to make Baekhyun talk to him and adding more to the list. That night even though he could still hear his parents shouting in the hall, Baekhyun slept with music playing in his earphones and a smile on his face. He was really looking forward to the Alumni meet.


End file.
